


The Voltage of Our Heartbeats

by DatHeetJoella



Category: Free!
Genre: Developing Relationship, First Kiss, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Makoharutokyo, Romance, fic request
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-10
Updated: 2017-11-10
Packaged: 2019-01-31 09:39:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 19,209
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12679257
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DatHeetJoella/pseuds/DatHeetJoella
Summary: It started out as a Friday evening like any other: Haruka stayed over at Makoto's apartment and made dinner for them while they talked about their days, spending the evening together like they always did. But when the power cut off, Haruka could no longer avoid confronting the strange feelings that had been progressively building up inside of his heart.





	The Voltage of Our Heartbeats

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was originally intended to be a part of my collection ["Home is Where You Are"](http://archiveofourown.org/works/8223001/chapters/18845935) because it was an anonymously submitted fic request. However, it got so long that I figured it would be better to post it as a stand-alone: which is ironic because out of all of the requests I still have, I specifically picked this one because I thought this would be a short one contrary to the others who would take up too much of my time, time I didn't have at the moment because I only wanted to write a short fic for those who are not reading [the multichaptered fic](http://archiveofourown.org/works/11067939/chapters/24681876) I'm currently absorbed in. At this point I shouldn't be too surprised that it got out of hand, but here we are now. I hope you like long stories with little to no plot besides romantic development, because that's exactly what this is.
> 
> The specific request was: "a fanfic idea where haru is having a sleepover with makoto and there's a power cut so the heating turns off, making the house cold, haru is sleeping on the floor and he's shivering due to the cold so makoto asks him to join him in the bed to heat him up but it leads to more than that". So, if you like this sort of stuff then I hope you'll enjoy it.
> 
> One other thing that I wanted to mention before the start of this fic was the announcement of season 3 of Free! It doesn't necessarily affect this fic, but I wanted to mention it because before it, I would have tagged this fic as "Post-Canon", which, I guess is not applicable anymore because canon is continuing and I don't know, I just wanted to share that with you.
> 
> That's all I really have to say for now, I hope you (especially the person who sent the request) enjoy! ^^

It started out like a Friday evening like any other.

After training Haruka stopped by the store to get some groceries before he went over to Makoto's place. On Fridays Makoto's class tended to run a bit late and combined with the evening rush at the station, he came home much later than usually so Haruka always let himself in with the key Makoto had given him when they first moved to Tokyo so he could get started on dinner.

Because it was getting pretty cold outside, especially in the evening, Haruka turned on the heater the moment he came in so the small but cosy apartment would be warm by the time Makoto arrived. Despite his big and muscular physique, Makoto got cold so easily and Haruka figured that he would appreciate coming home to the warmth and the food that he was currently preparing. He still didn't understand why Makoto had chosen to take a late class on Friday of all days, but Makoto always said Friday was the only day he could manage that because the weekend immediately followed - and because that was the only day he knew for sure he'd be greeted with the soft smile of his best friend and a homecooked meal, the thought of it being his drive to get through the day. Makoto had never told him that, but he didn't have to either; he could read Makoto just as well as Makoto could read him.

Ever since they moved here, they got to spend less and less time together and that was something that was hard to adjust to, especially in the beginning. For the first eighteen years of their lives they were used to seeing each other pretty much every single day, always at the other's side, and that drastically changed when they moved here. They still tried to meet up as often as they possibly could, but it was hard with their schedules not lining up like they had hoped they would. Regardless, the desire to spend time together didn't dwindle and therefore they decided that they would keep Friday evenings free at all cost so they could spend at least a couple of hours a week with each other. They would meet up at Makoto's apartment - which Haruka suggested - and he would make them both dinner so he could ensure that Makoto would eat something other than instant ramen for at least one day a week. Then they'd watch a movie or play some games before Haruka went home at the end of the evening - that had initially been the plan, at least.

Although Haruka was glad with this arrangement because he knew he'd see Makoto at least once every week, it honestly wasn't enough. They even met up more often outside of these Friday evenings; they regularly had lunch and dinner together as well if they happened to both be free, and they texted each other all the time, yet it still wasn't enough. At first he thought that it was because Makoto was the only bit of familiarity, of home here in a new and unknown city and that he simply had to get used to this new environment and new people, but as the months passed and he got adjusted to life here in Tokyo, the feelings of longing lingered. He didn't know what these feelings exactly were or why he had them, but whenever he met up with Makoto it felt like everything was finally right again; it truly felt like finally coming home after having been away for a long time. But then when the time came for them to part ways, dread filled his chest as he had to tear himself away, forcing his legs to keep going while his heart didn't want anything but to turn around and go back to Makoto's warmth. If Makoto had to leave, then he waved him goodbye while his fingers itched to reach out, to grab the back of his shirt or coat and hold him back. It was conflicting, for he didn't look forward to anything as much as he did to seeing Makoto, but he didn't dread anything like having to leave his side again. And he knew that while every meeting brought him joy and contentment, they always ended the same way: with Makoto smiling at him in that special way and waving him goodbye with his large hand, and with sadness weighing down on Haruka like a rock in his stomach.

But Haruka told himself not to think of that right then; after all, the evening hadn't even started yet and he could still spend some quality time with his best friend. For now, he should just focus on the green curry - Tachibana family's recipe - he was making for Makoto. He had been loaded with schoolwork recently and Haruka could tell he was stressing out over it a lot, so he thought it might be nice to surprise him with his favourite food to reward him a little for all his hard work. It was no mackerel, but the excited smile and expressions of gratitude that would surely fall from Makoto's lips made it all worthwhile.

Then, he heard Makoto's key sliding into the lock and his chest filled with warmth and anticipation like it always did at the sound of that familiar click. The door flew open and quickly shut again and Makoto was now standing in the genkan, red-nosed and shivering from the cold weather.

"I'm home!" he called out and he began to take his scarf and coat off.

"Welcome home," Haruka replied, but truthfully, he was the one who was finally home.

"Ah, it's so nice and warm here," Makoto sighed as he untied his shoelaces, "It's  _so_  cold outside; I thought my nose was going to freeze off!"

At Makoto's words a small feeling of accomplishment shot through Haruka, glad that he made the right decision to turn up the heater before. "Really? It was a bit chilly when I got here but it wasn't freezing or anything."

"Really! The wind was cold and blowing so hard just now, it felt like it was cutting my skin," Makoto shuddered, and Haruka could hear his footsteps on the wooden floor and he stopped right behind him. "Want to feel?" he asked, his voice full of mischief and teasing.

"Don't you dare," Haruka warned. Although he wasn't one to reject Makoto's touch usually, he definitely didn't want him to press his icy hands against his neck like Makoto was planning to do. He believed it was cold outside so he didn't need Makoto to prove it to him. "Get those hands away from me, Makoto, otherwise no dinner for you."

Makoto simply laughed in that breathy way that never failed to make Haruka's heart jump inside his chest. "I won't do it, I won't do it!" he quickly assured, not wanting to miss out on Haruka's food and he peered over his shoulder to watch him work. Then he gasped. "You're making green curry? Thanks, Haru-chan!" he exclaimed mirthfully, and even if Haruka couldn't see him right now, he knew that a wide smile was stretching his handsome face and that made him feel pleased. "It smells so good! Honestly, the warmth, the food… where would I be without you?"

It was merely an expression of gratitude, Makoto's way of voicing his appreciation for the things that Haruka did for him and although he knew this, he couldn't stop his cheeks from growing warmer at those words. Since he really didn't know how to respond to that because the funny feeling that blossomed in his stomach at Makoto's exclamation made him a bit speechless, he just mumbled, "Drop the '-chan'," like he always did either out of habit or when Makoto flustered him. "Go get changed, dinner will be ready soon."

Another laugh spilled from Makoto's lips and he did as he had been told, turning around and strolling over to the other side of the room so he could put on some more comfortable clothes. Even though he was sure Makoto wouldn't mind either way, Haruka kept facing away from him to give him his privacy. Despite being used to seeing each other half-naked and even fully naked all the time, it somehow felt different when they weren't near a pool or in a changing room. It felt weird, like he was intruding in Makoto's personal space even though they had never really had any boundaries like that separating them and if they had, then they had crossed it quite often in the past. He tried to reason with himself that it shouldn't be weird because he would be fine with Makoto watching him too, but when he truly thought about it, it did actually make him feel a little weird but somehow in a good way that he really couldn't explain.

Honestly, the only thing that was weird about all of this was that he was overthinking something so simple and normal. This was Makoto and nothing was ever weird with him, only easy and comfortable and familiar so he shouldn't have been making such a big deal out of nothing at all.

A loud and abrupt yelp pulled him from his thoughts. He swiftly turned around and was met with Makoto's bare back since he had just taken his shirt off and suddenly, it wasn't nothing.

For a second he paused as he stared at the wide expanse of Makoto's back and a tingling spread through his abdomen, but then he shook his head to snap himself out of it. He shouldn't get sidetracked by these feelings he couldn't explain and he realised that Makoto had made some kind of distressed noise. Because he didn't know what was wrong and he couldn't see anything that was off in particular either, worry began to creep up into him so he called, "Makoto? Everything alright?"

"It's cold!" Makoto shrieked and Haruka's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, because the air inside the room was pleasantly warm, he had personally made sure it would be and Makoto had affirmed that it was before. Without having to be asked what he meant, Makoto elaborated, "My hands! I accidentally touched myself while pulling off my shirt."

A huff of relief and amusement left Haruka's lips. "Idiot," he said, shaking his head once more, "That's what you get for wanting to do it to me earlier."

"I didn't even do it!"

"Still."

Now that he knew that Makoto was okay, his mind easily drifted off again, or actually, to Makoto's back again and the funny feeling returned to his stomach. Even though he hadn't really trained in months and his diet hadn't exactly been the most healthy one, Makoto's body hadn't lost its shape whatsoever; he was still built like the powerful backstroke swimmer he had been since he was a kid. His shoulders were broad and his waist was narrow, the planes of his back all hard-muscle yet he knew that despite the idiotic strength he possessed, Makoto was still soft and gentle and would never use his physical power for harm. Objectively speaking, Makoto had a nice back. An amazing back.

Unfortunately, he was pulled from his thoughts once more, now by a shirt covering up the wonderful view he had been looking at - admiring - and he decided he had to turn back around before the food burned and all his effort went to waste.

Soon Makoto was reaching above and around him to set the table and Haruka served the green curry he had made. They quickly said their thanks because Haruka knew Makoto couldn't wait to dig in and another small wave of pride surged through him. Makoto took a large bite and practically moaned around his spoon, his eyelids falling shut to truly savour the flavour on his tongue.

"Ah, it's tastes so good, Haru!" he praised and even if Haruka had known from the start that Makoto would like it since it was the same green curry he was used to, it still made him feel warm and happy inside. "Thank you!"

"Your mom sent you some things, so I thought I might as well use them," Haruka brushed off, the wide and joyous smile on Makoto's face in combination with the beautiful tone of his voice making him feel flustered yet again and his cheeks grew inexplicably warmer. It wasn't a lie, but that wasn't the main reason he chose to cook green curry; after all, there were a ton of other things he could have made with the ingredients that were sent to Makoto and there were some necessities that were missing in Mrs. Tachibana's care package yet he had made green curry all the same.

"Still, thank you," Makoto insisted, like he wanted Haruka to accept the credit as it was due. Since he knew that Haruka would have a difficulty responding to that second expression of thankfulness, he changed the subject himself. "How was practice?"

"Fine," Haruka simply mumbled and though his reply may have seemed curt, Makoto understood it was just how he was and that it wasn't an attempt to cut the conversation short.

A soft smile graced his face and he took another bite before he asked, "Did you beat your time?"

"Hm," Haruka confirmed, taking a sip of his water, "Almost a quarter of a second."

"Haru, that's amazing!" Makoto beamed and Haruka only shrugged in response because he still couldn't bring himself to care too much about his times. Makoto knew this, and therefore he took it upon himself to care about it on Haruka's behalf as well until he was ready to care about his times himself. "I wish I could have been there to see you."

Haruka wished Makoto could have been there too, not so much so Makoto could see him swim, but so he could wait for him at the end of the lane with his gentle smile, reaching out his hand to pull him out of the pool like he hadn't done in a long while. Although he knew Makoto was too busy and often too exhausted to swim in his spare time, he still wished they could have swum more often together so he could share the water with Makoto. Therefore, he couldn't help but say, "If you're free then you can always come to practice. And swim."

Makoto chuckled at that suggestion. "Won't your coaches get mad? I'm sure they're really not waiting for some out-of-shape student from a different university to crash their training."

In response Haruka just shrugged again as if to say that he couldn't care less about that. He knew it wasn't a realistic proposal, but that didn't mean that he didn't want it to actually work out the way he envisioned because he did really miss swimming together with Makoto. Even if most of his teammates were alright and he spent numerous hours inside the water every day, it just wasn't the same as how it used to be back in Iwatobi. Of course, he hadn't expected it to be the same because it was obvious that things were different, but somehow the absence of his friends made the water feel a bit colder in spirit.

Those thoughts didn't go unnoticed by Makoto and he offered him a gentle smile. "Maybe when we go back to Iwatobi for our next break we can go to the swim club. Invite Nagisa, Rei, and Gou-chan, and maybe the new members and swim together."

"Yeah, we'll see," Haruka said, knowing that Makoto was trying to comfort him and he appreciated that. It was a nice suggestion and they could definitely try to arrange it when they were back in Iwatobi, but for some reason that just wasn't enough for Haruka. Lately it seemed like nothing was ever enough for him, like he kept craving for more and more even if he didn't really understand what exactly it was that he wanted. But since he didn't want to get lost in these thoughts yet again, he decided to go back to the initial question Makoto asked him. "Coach said that I should do more land training outside of practice."

The bitter tone that was laced through Haruka's words made Makoto giggle, for he knew just how much Haruka disliked land training. He never minded the morning and evening jogs Makoto and he would often take, but once it was part of his regimen and he was forced to do it then he despised it, especially since he was wasting time that could otherwise be spent swimming.

"Do you want to take morning runs together again?" Makoto proposed with an understanding smile, "Just like we used to."

"Will you be able to make it?" Haruka wondered because no matter how dearly he wanted to accept, he knew that Makoto was loaded with schoolwork and had never really been an early bird to begin with. If he were to be selfish then he'd just agree to it, but no matter how gladly he'd spend more time with Makoto, he didn't want him to tire himself out too much when there were more important things he could be doing instead.

"If we build it up first," Makoto said, knowing that he currently wasn't fit enough to continue with the same pace and distance that they had established in the past. "It'll be good for me; I really need to exercise more anyway so this gives me a reason to."

"Alright," Haruka agreed, not wanting to have another objection since Makoto's words made sense and he would pick running together with Makoto over running alone any day.

"If you show me your regimen soon then we'll figure it out, okay?"

"Sure," he muttered, a tiny flame of elation lighting up in him at the knowledge that Makoto and he were going to be able to see each other a little more often. Since they had talked about him enough already, he wanted to shift the focus to Makoto and asked, "Were you able to turn in that assignment in time?"

"Yes, fortunately," Makoto sighed in what appeared to be relief and exhaustion, "I fell asleep while I was writing it last night and when I woke up this morning I saw that I still had to write two whole sections. I completely panicked and typed it up as fast as I could and I didn't have the time to proofread it before I had to leave. And of course when I was at the computer lab the printer was acting up again so by the time it was done I only had five minutes left, so I had to run across campus and well, I know I definitely don't have the stamina anymore. I did turn it in just in time, but I'm pretty sure it was bad."

"Better to turn in a bad assignment than no assignment or an incomplete one," Haruka offered since it was about the only thing he could say to that, not wanting to bid him false words of comfort.

"I thought so too, which is why I was glad I did finish it in time," Makoto confirmed and he sighed again, "I really should have started that assignment sooner but I completely forgot about it until last night. But I'm glad it's over now."

"I'll send you a reminder next time."

"You don't have to do that, it shouldn't be your responsibility to help me remember things."

At those words Haruka sighed as well. He knew that Makoto was doing his best to be a responsible adult, but just because he needed help with certain things didn't mean that he wasn't responsible anymore. He had a lot of things going on all at once so it wasn't odd that he forgot something every once in a while, and because Makoto and he discussed everything with each other Haruka always knew when he had an important test or assignment, and they texted a lot throughout the day so it wasn't like it would be a lot of effort for him to remind Makoto of those important things. Just because it wasn't his responsibility didn't mean that he shouldn't do it. But since it would be futile to try to convince Makoto, he decided to just leave it at that because he had already made his mind up anyway. So he changed the topic once again and asked him about the rest of his day while Makoto stood up to get himself seconds after Haruka had declined another portion.

After dinner Makoto got up and grabbed their plates to clear the table and do the dishes. Haruka was about to stand up to help but Makoto simply shook his head and motioned for him to sit back down, silently telling him that it was alright and that he would do the dishes alone since Haruka had already cooked for them.

"Are you staying over?" Makoto asked despite already knowing what Haruka's answer would be. After all, it had been a long time since Haruka actually went home on Friday evenings. At first he attempted to prolong his stay by pretending to have fallen asleep or by waiting until the last train had left before he went to leave, knowing that Makoto would never tell him to go or wouldn't allow him to stay over anyway - this was why he always preferred to go to Makoto's apartment rather than having Makoto come to his because he could choose when he left and it wasn't like he could beg Makoto to stay if he wanted to leave. The attempts were lousy to say the least and Haruka was sure that Makoto knew he was purposely doing it, but he never mentioned anything about it until he just asked Haruka if he wanted to stay over. Haruka was glad about it, because it meant that he didn't have to put on an act anymore and wouldn't have to return to the emptiness of his own apartment at night.

"Yeah."

"You can go take a shower first while I do the dishes," Makoto offered with his gentle smile, "You can take a bath too, if you want."

"It's fine," Haruka brushed off because no matter how much he loved the water, he rarely took baths at Makoto's place. Not only because he didn't want to raise his water bill, but also because he'd rather spend the time with Makoto instead. He could always take a bath at home but Makoto wasn't always with him. Despite him declining every single time, Makoto never stopped offering it because he didn't want Haruka to hold himself back, for this was Haruka's home just as much as it was his and he wanted Haruka to feel that way too. And Haruka did, perhaps he felt even more at home here than at his own apartment. It didn't have anything to do with the buildings though.

"You didn't bring anything did you?"

"No," he said and Makoto was probably already expecting that, because he practically never brought anything since that would be unnecessary considering Makoto had everything he needed anyway.

"You can grab anything from the closet. I didn't do laundry yet though so I don't know what's left in there," Makoto muttered, knowing that Haruka had clothes he preferred to wear and not being sure if he had worn those in the past few days.

"Hm," Haruka hummed in acknowledgement before he slid the closet door open. Despite Makoto's warning, he still looked for his favourite shirt and was pleased to see that Makoto hadn't worn it yet so he could wear it now. It was the orange and yellow shirt Makoto had had since before high school and because it was a bit too small on him now, he only wore it to sleep in these days. Makoto probably knew that it was his favourite because he always made sure he had washed it before Haruka came over so he could wear it. Even though he would have been fine with any of Makoto's shirts because they were all comfortable, he was still happier with this old one.

After debating for a second whether he should go with shorts or not he grabbed a pair of grey sweatpants before he made his way to Makoto's small bathroom. The bathtub was pretty small so even if he were to take a bath, it probably wouldn't have been very satisfying to begin with.

Something he liked about showering at Makoto's house beside getting to wear his clothes afterwards was that he got to use Makoto's shampoo. It smelled so good and always made his chlorine-abused hair really soft and smooth to touch. He had seen it at the store quite often for he easily recognised the bottle, but despite liking it so much he would never buy it for himself. If he did, then it wouldn't be Makoto's shampoo anymore and using it would no longer be special.

They did use the same soap, had done so ever since they were kids because Makoto's skin used to be very sensitive and therefore Haruka's own parents decided to switch to the same brand the Tachibanas used so it wouldn't be a problem when he slept over, which was often. Even though Makoto had long since grown out of his sensitivity, neither of them had stopped using that brand for convenience' sake.

When he was done he quickly dried himself off for the most part before he threw on Makoto's clothes, that smelled mostly like laundry detergent yet still held a hint of Makoto's scent. With a towel around his shoulders he went back to Makoto, who had finished the dishes already and was now sitting on his bed.

"The bath's free," Haruka said as he walked back inside and Makoto looked up from the book he had been thumbing through.

"Alright." Makoto shut the book and took his glasses off before he looked up at Haruka and saw his dripping hair. "Haru, your hair is still wet."

Haruka only shrugged as if to say that he didn't care, but Makoto wasn't having any of it.

"You have to dry it properly, Haru," he chided as he got up and grabbed the towel to dry Haruka's hair himself.

"It's not like it wouldn't dry on its own," Haruka mumbled with a pout but allowed Makoto to rub his hands over his head all the same. He would be lying if he said that he minded it.

"That doesn't mean you shouldn't dry it off!" Makoto objected, "Just because it's warm in here doesn't mean it isn't cold outside, so who knows how many viruses are going around. You don't want to catch a cold, right?"

Haruka didn't respond to that because Makoto had already made his point. Still, drying his hair was too much effort and he knew that Makoto would dry it for him anyway since he didn't want him to get sick. If he were to be brutally honest, he might have done it on purpose because he didn't feel like doing it himself, and Makoto's gentle hands felt so good against his scalp, putting just enough pressure to thoroughly dry his locks yet still treating him delicately and with care. If he sat down and closed his eyes, Makoto could easily lull him to sleep with the soft way he was massaging his head.

Once Makoto deemed his hair dry enough, he pulled the towel away and hung it over his own shoulder. Then, he ran his fingers through Haruka's black locks to put them back into place after he had tousled them. This action was a little more unexpected and it made Haruka look up in surprise and when he met Makoto's forest green eyes, Makoto smiled at him in the way he always did. Suddenly Haruka was very aware of their proximity and the same feeling of yearning he always had when he thought about Makoto when he was alone surged through his chest, yet ten times stronger than usually. He didn't understand why he felt it because Makoto was literally right in front of him, but lately he had been feeling more and more inexplicable things when he was by Makoto's side and even when he wasn't. All he knew was that Makoto was their catalyst and even if he definitely didn't dislike them, these feelings were too much for him to handle at that exact moment, so he averted his eyes in what seemed to be shyness so he wouldn't have to be confronted with his own heart.

For once Makoto didn't seem to notice Haruka's inner turmoil and confusion and simply continued to brush his hair out of his face until he was satisfied. With a last strand of hair placed behind Haruka's ear, Makoto turned to go to the closet to grab some clothes for himself as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

"I'll go take a quick shower now," he said as he walked towards the bathroom, still wearing his trademark smile, "I'll be right back."

Haruka didn't respond but he lifted his eyes and watched Makoto going into the bathroom before the door shut behind him. He was torn up once again by Makoto leaving, even if it was only for a short while; on one hand he wanted to utilise every second he could spend with Makoto and the time they spent showering was lost in that aspect, but on the other hand it might be good for him to take a moment to breathe and calm the whirlwind of unknown emotions and desires that was coiling in his stomach.

So he took a deep breath and grabbed the book and glasses that Makoto had left on the bed and put them on the table instead before he went to the kitchen to make them both some tea. Once it was ready, he thought they could play some games later when Makoto was done so he turned on the tv and console and figured he might as well play something while he was waiting for Makoto to finish up his shower. He booted up the game, sat down on Makoto's bed and quickly selected some random options, not really caring what he picked since he would have to change it again soon when Makoto was playing along in multiplayer mode.

Then, everything went pitch black.

It startled him a little when the tv and all the lights suddenly went off simultaneously and he sighed in annoyance at the thought of there being a power outage in Makoto's apartment. That was the exact kind of trouble that he wasn't waiting for on a night in which he just wanted to relax with his best friend, and he was quite sure that Makoto felt the same, especially after his long and exhausting day. But then his annoyance transformed into worry when he heard a shriek followed by Makoto's voice calling out to him.

"Um, Haru?"

Makoto was still in the shower and it was dark in there now so he couldn't see a thing, and although his voice hadn't sounded particularly pained, the shriek did indicate that something was wrong. He could have slipped and seriously hurt himself, although that wasn't a very likely scenario since he hadn't heard anything but Makoto's voice. But the prospect that that might happen soon was enough for him to immediately jump up and blindly make his way through Makoto's small apartment - fortunately he was acquainted enough with Makoto's apartment to navigate through it in the dark without bumping into anything. He opened the bathroom door slightly so they could hear each other better before he yelled, "Makoto? Are you alright?"

"Yeah," Makoto assured and Haruka heard him turn off the shower, "It's just dark and the water is cold. I think something might have gone wrong with one of the switches. Could you go to the electricity panel and look? My phone's on the nightstand to give you some light."

"Alright," Haruka replied and he went back to retrieve Makoto's phone before he opened up the door to the electricity panel. With the phone providing light, he ran his eyes over all the switches and buttons and easily came to the conclusion that he had absolutely no idea what he was looking at nor what these things all were for. Therefore he couldn't see if something was wrong or not. He really should have more knowledge about electricity and such, especially since he had been living alone for years already because he really needed it in cases like these, but the thought of this happening had honestly never crossed his mind before so he hadn't anticipated that he had to be prepared for it either. The only thing he knew for sure was that he had no clue what he was supposed to do right now. "Makoto? Maybe you should look at it yourself because I don't know what to do."

"Okay," Makoto agreed, "Wait a second." Haruka heard him turn the shower back on, assumingly to rinse off the remains of soap that still clung to his skin. When it turned off again a moment later Makoto asked, "Haru, could you hand me my towel?"

"Alright," Haruka repeated and he pushed the door open further and walked inside, letting the phone's light guide him once again. He kept his eyes and the light averted from Makoto's body as he reached for the towel and gave it to him.

"Thanks," Makoto said as he accepted the towel and quickly patted down his torso to remove the most waterdrops before he tied it around his waist and stepped out of the shower. Only then did Haruka dare to look at him again without having to be afraid to feel weird once more. But when he saw the droplets that were still cascading over his skin and the way his hair was pushed back to reveal his forehead, he soon realised that he had made an error in estimating his own feelings, because he very much did feel weird.

Not just his back, but Makoto's entire torso was amazing. His chest was wide, his pecs were prominent, he had well-defined abs and his hips were muscled, all accentuated nicely by the glistening drops of water that were rolling down his body. Everything about it was just very nice. In fact, it wasn't just his torso that was great, but his entire body from his handsome face all the way down to his feet. Makoto had a fantastic body that only complimented his wonderful personality. Objectively speaking.

He swallowed thickly and told himself to get a grip because there were more important things he should be doing instead of trying to comprehend the throbbing in his chest and the surging in his stomach at the sight of Makoto's familiar body, like helping Makoto figure out how to get the power back on.

Haruka held the phone in front of the panel again so Makoto had both of his hands free and he checked all the switches, but found nothing in particular that was wrong.

"Hm, strange," he thought aloud, running his hand through his hair out of habit and wiping it against his towel-clad legs when he realised his brown locks had still been wet. Then he turned back to Haruka and muttered, "Can you go and look if the lights in the corridor are on?"

With a hum in response Haruka walked over to the door, unlocked it and quickly peered outside before he shut it again, not wanting the warmth in the apartment get lost and not wanting the cold to reach Makoto's wet body either. "They're all off too, so it's probably a problem in the entire building."

"It's too late to call the landlord now so that will have to wait until tomorrow if it's not solved by then. What are we going to do in the meantime?"

Haruka pondered for a second. "Should we go to my apartment for the night?" he proposed, but Makoto instantly shook his head.

"I don't think we'll make it in time before the last train," he reasoned, "And even if we did, there might be a possibility that it's not just my building but the entire area, so your apartment might not have electricity either. At least it's a little warm in here so we better just stay here."

"That's true," Haruka agreed, finding that the journey to his apartment in the bitter cold wasn't worth it anyway. "Well, first things first, you better get dressed otherwise you'll be the one who catches a cold. I'll go look for some candles and matches. Here." He gave Makoto the phone back before he turned around and walked over to his bag and rummaged through it until he found his own phone to serve as a source of light.

He was glad that he actually started to use it when they moved to Tokyo so he was always carrying it and made sure it was fully charged before he left his apartment. After all, he could no longer rely on Makoto to take calls for him because they weren't always together anymore, much to his dismay. It had been hard to get used to at first but he soon realised that carrying his phone around was a good thing because it was the only way he could stay in contact with Makoto throughout the entire day.

His search for candles began in the cupboards beneath the sink. When they were unpacking all those months ago, he remembered seeing the emergency kit Makoto's parents had given him in one of those and he was pretty sure that Makoto hadn't touched it since, so logically speaking it should still be there. He was right, and he grabbed all the tea lights from it and set a couple on the table before holding a lit match to the wicks.

Soon dozens of tea lights were spread across the room, faintly illuminating the apartment. The little candles weren't as efficient as sources of light as the lamps were, but they were all they currently had and it was better than sitting around in the dark, so they would have to make do.

Makoto re-entered the room by the time Haruka shook the last match out and he threw all the used matches away before he grabbed the cups of tea he made earlier and handed one to Makoto.

"Here," he murmured, "I'm glad I made tea before the power cut off. Though it's probably cold by now."

"It is cold," Makoto confirmed with a small chuckle after he took a sip, "Still, thank you. Where would I be without you, Haru-chan?"

Although Makoto had uttered those same words earlier this evening, it was like they hit him twice as hard now. Perhaps it was the soft tone of his voice when he said it this time, almost like he was whispering a promise to him, or maybe it was the situation that they were currently in that made it feel different. All he knew for sure was that those words struck something inside of him that made his heart beat so much faster than it had before. Blood rushed to his cheeks and he averted his eyes once more, because objectively speaking, Makoto looked very nice bathed in the warm light of the candles. "I told you to stop with the '-chan'," Haruka mumbled because it was all he could think of at that moment and Makoto only giggled again in that adorable way of his. "So, what are we going to do now?"

"We could just go to sleep, but that kind of defeats the purpose of you lighting all those candles," Makoto said, looking around them as if the dimly lit room would provide him with the answers he was seeking, "I suppose we can watch a movie on my laptop. Until the battery dies, that is."

"Sure," Haruka easily agreed, not knowing what else they could do besides sit and talk, which, while he normally enjoyed talking with Makoto, he knew was not the wisest thing he could do right now. Not until he figured out the reason behind these odd feelings. "What do you want to watch?"

"You can pick," Makoto offered before he grabbed his laptop and sat down on the bed.

"Okay," Haruka muttered, "Do you want anything?"

There was no need for him to specify what he meant, because Makoto always understood him without being told all the details. "No, thanks. I'm still full from dinner."

"It's good you never have much in your fridge anyway, otherwise a lot of food would have gone to waste," Haruka teased with a small smirk, being unable to stop himself from making a joking remark.

"Oh, shut up," Makoto said with a feigned pout before an amused smile that he couldn't repress broke through, and he just had to tease him back, "Just grab what you want, pick a movie and get over here already."

Since he didn't want anything either, Haruka took a few steps forward until he was in front of the cabinet that tv stood on, knowing that Makoto kept his DVDs inside there and he crouched. Makoto hadn't brought many to Tokyo, mainly just the ones that Ran and Ren were too young for and a few others that were special to him, since he didn't want his siblings to miss out on too many of their favourite movies. As Haruka was browsing the cases, his eyes fell on the brightly coloured case of "The Little Mermaid". It shouldn't have been a surprise that Makoto had brought this movie in particular along with him to Tokyo rather than leaving it back in Iwatobi because he knew it was special to him, but it still made a fond smile blossom on Haruka's lips.

It was the present that he had given Makoto on his fifth birthday and Makoto had been so elated that he had forgotten all about the rest of his party in favour of watching it with him immediately - not that Haruka remembered that specifically, but he had seen almost every single home video the Tachibanas' made, including the video of Makoto's fifth birthday party. Since they were still so small, Mr. and Mrs. Tachibana had allowed them to do their own thing rather than forcing them to engage with the party. It had quickly become one of Makoto's favourite movies and they watched it together on numerous occasions after that because Makoto would get the same smile on his face whenever he watched it again as the one he had worn when he first received it. So naturally Haruka couldn't object to watching it with him, not when it brought Makoto so much joy. It wasn't like he didn't like the movie himself, because he did - it had a lot of water in it after all -, but it always brought along some confusion and questions on his part. He hadn't really understood Ariel's fascination with the land with humans and Prince Eric in particular, and why she would give up being able to live in the water when to him, that seemed like the perfect life. Whenever he expressed these wonders to Makoto, Makoto simply said that he was the same as Ariel and that the land with humans and Prince Eric were her water.

At the time he hadn't understood what Makoto meant with that despite his attempts at explaining it - because he would never give up the water and wouldn't be dumb enough to make a deal with a sea witch who obviously had bad intentions, he had reasoned - but now he was older, Haruka did understand what he had meant back then. Even as young as he had been then, Makoto had been really wise for his age when it came to these type of things and admittedly, he still was while Haruka himself probably hadn't grown much in that aspect - although he knew for sure that Makoto would beg to differ if he told him that. Though arguably, he did understand Ariel's reasoning now, even if for some reason he felt that Makoto's claim in the past was not true anymore, because he could now clearly differentiate his love for the water from his love for other people; he thought that the land may have been Ariel's water, but Prince Eric wasn't.

Shaking his head to get himself out of his reminiscence, Haruka took the DVD out of the cabinet. He thought it might be nice to watch it now, to see if his view on the movie as a whole had changed completely now that he was older. Besides that, they hadn't seen it in a good few years, had never watched it here in Tokyo so that definitely had to change because he felt like this movie was a part of their childhood, part of the development of their friendship and it surely had to be part of the next stage in their lives that this move to Tokyo had been. He was sure that Makoto agreed with that too.

With the case in hand, Haruka got up but before he went to join Makoto on his bed, he opened his closet and grabbed a large blanket from it. It might still be warm in here now, but he didn't know for how long that warmth would linger so he wanted to preserve that warmth on their bodies for as long as he could.

When he plopped down next to Makoto, he threw the blanket over them both and he handed over the case. The instant Makoto saw the movie Haruka had picked, his beautiful eyes softened in fondness and that tender smile adorned his face once more and Haruka knew he had made the right decision. The same recollection of their blissful and carefree childhood that Haruka had when he first saw the case again flashed through Makoto as well. He didn't say anything about the wave of nostalgia that hit him though, he just put the disc into his laptop and opened the file. While it was loading, they snuggled up closer together underneath the blanket until their thighs were pressed against each other and their bare arms were touching. Neither of them even needed the excuse of warmth in order to sit close like this, since it felt comfortable and right, just how it had always been in the past. They didn't need to question each other's motive for that was about the last thing that was on their minds at that moment; all they knew was that it was pleasant and cosy and that those feelings of belonging were entirely mutual.

In hindsight, Haruka was very glad that he had picked a movie he had already seen multiple times before so he could still understand what was going on even if his mind drifted off for a second. He had tried to ignore it at first, but the strange feelings that had progressively been building up inside of him when he was by Makoto's side or even when he was just thinking about Makoto - which was often - seemed to have reached a new height. And it was at this moment that he realised that strange didn't necessarily mean unpleasant; in fact, it was very nice and warm and it even made him feel a bit giddy inside, a word he otherwise would have never used to describe himself. Since he had already established within himself that sitting so close together with Makoto felt good and was something they both enjoyed, he knew that the feelings it brought along had to be positive ones too even if he couldn't quite put a name to them yet.

Because he had sorted at least that much out in a seemingly natural way, he realised that he shouldn't treat these feelings any differently than he would any other feeling; instead of contemplating until he got a headache or forcing these feelings to reveal their origin and purpose, he just had to accept them and let them run wild, let himself be dragged along by their current and see where they would bring him. With that in mind, he focused his attention back to the movie somewhat successfully, but he was soon distracted again when the one of the songs began.

Softly and without his awareness, Makoto sang along under his breath, starting with quietly humming until the lyrics were effortlessly leaving his lips and a pang of what Haruka later learned to be endearment shot through his chest, hitting him right in his heart. It wasn't a surprise that Makoto still knew all the words to all the songs, because he had often sung them along quietly when they watched it in the past, but it had caught him completely off-guard this time. Regardless of that, Haruka knew that he shouldn't say anything about it or respond to it in general, because that would cause for Makoto to stop which was the exact opposite of what he wanted. Because Makoto had a beautiful voice and he could sing so well, it was always a blessing to hear him sing but unfortunately he was quite self-conscious about it so actually hearing him sing was pretty rare. So Haruka knew he had to seize every occasion and savour the sound of his enchanting voice whenever he got to hear it, because he truly loved to hear Makoto sing and if he were to outright ask him to sing for him then Makoto would get too embarrassed to actually do it. Perhaps he would be more confident in the future, at least Haruka hoped he would be because he definitely didn't have anything he had to be self-conscious or embarrassed about.

They continued to watch the movie without speaking a word to each other, because they knew that they didn't need to state their thoughts aloud for the other to hear them, that everything they wanted the other to know would be conveyed silently and through body language. But at that moment, there was nothing specific that they needed the other to know because they had already confirmed that they were on the same wavelength. The atmosphere in the candle-lit room was cosy and intimate, a type of intimacy that wasn't exactly foreign yet it wasn't something that they had ever experienced before. They welcomed it without question and with open arms, because even if it felt different, it was still the same in how comfortable and familiar it felt. Something was changing, and although they didn't exactly know what it was or what that entailed, they didn't resist it because it felt like it was an inevitable development in the right direction, even if it was unsure what kind of direction that was.

And because he wanted to and he knew Makoto wouldn't mind, Haruka leaned his head against Makoto's shoulder as they continued to watch the movie.

 

 

"Haru-chan. Haru-chan."

Makoto's gentle voice whispered that nickname over and over, in the distance at first but getting closer with every repeat. A soft shake by a hand on his shoulder fully brought him back to consciousness and his eyes blinked open and met Makoto's gentle green ones and a small smile.

"Haru-chan, it's time to wake up," Makoto murmured, keeping his voice low and quiet so he wouldn't startle him, "Come on, we need to go brush our teeth."

"Hmm," Haruka hummed in response and he raised his hand to his face to rub his eyes. He didn't know at what point he had fallen asleep, but he was still lying against Makoto like he had before he had dozed off and he sat back up, figuring Makoto's back must be stiff if he was forced to sit in the same position the entire time.

It didn't take much longer for the remnants of lingering sleep to dissipate entirely when he took in the temperature of the room. It was cold. Very cold. The pleasant warmth that had remained after the power cut off had in the meantime slipped away through every nook and cranny and left an icy feeling in its wake. It wasn't actually freezing inside, but it sure felt like it was and an uncomfortable shiver ran down Haruka's spine.

The last thing he wanted was to get up from their blanket cocoon that provided at least a bit of warmth, but he reasoned with himself that the sooner he brushed his teeth, the sooner he could completely bury himself inside the futon even if that meant missing Makoto's body heat.

So he raised his arms over his head to stretch his back before he got up. Instant regret shot through him the moment his bare feet touched the wooden floor and an icy feeling spread from his toes all the way up to his face. Although the floor of Makoto's apartment was never very warm, Haruka doubted if it had ever felt this cold before and if he hadn't been fully awake before, then he definitely was now.

In order to go back to the warmth as soon as possible, Haruka bit the bullet and stood up completely and Makoto followed his example.

"It's so cold now," he commented and he quivered, rubbing his bare arms and in the faint candle light Haruka could see goosebumps beneath Makoto's hands. The soft orange glow of the room made it seem like it was a lot warmer inside than it actually was.

"Yeah, better hurry up so we can go to bed soon," Haruka replied, feeling the goosebumps on his skin as well. In hindsight, he was very glad he had opted for a pair of sweatpants for even if they were pretty thin, they were much better at keeping his legs warm than a pair of shorts would have been.

"Yeah," Makoto echoed and he grabbed his laptop and put it on the table beside the tea lights, "Remind me to take the disc out and put it back in the case tomorrow. If the power's back at least."

"Alright. When did the battery die?" Haruka wondered, wanting to know if Makoto was able to finish the movie on both of their behalfs.

"I don't know, I fell asleep too and when I woke up it was already dead."

"Hm." Judging by the amount of wax left inside the lit candles, they couldn't have been asleep for more than an hour. Perhaps they would have been able to watch the entire movie if they hadn't fallen asleep, but it didn't seem like Makoto's laptop would have survived much longer than that. Although it saddened him that they weren't able to finish it, he knew that once Makoto's power was back they'd definitely make a second attempt in the future, and besides, with the cold air inside the apartment, the movie was about the least of his problems. If only Makoto's old apartment building had better insulation, maybe then they would have been able to keep the warmth inside and the cold outside for longer.

"Do you want a sweater or something? Socks?" Makoto asked as he went over to the closet again.

Haruka pondered for a second because even if putting on more clothes was the most reasonable thing to do when it was cold and the heater was off due to power outage, he was still conflicted because he was wearing his favourite shirt and wasn't eager to take it off already. Not when he had been looking forward to wearing it all week.

Because he was taking so long to decide, Makoto made the decision for him and handed him a sweater and a pair of socks. "Here," he said with clear insistence in his kind voice, a tone that just couldn't be defied even if Haruka had wanted to, "I'm sorry I don't have a thicker sweater, but like I said, I haven't done laundry yet and I wore all of those recently."

"It's fine," Haruka muttered and as a compromise to himself, he pulled the sweater on over his shirt, figuring that it was cold enough to do that anyway. This sweater smelled even more like Makoto than the shirt did, which made sense because Makoto had probably worn it more recently, but it still pleased him and he was glad that he hadn't objected to Makoto giving it to him. Even if he would miss Makoto's body heat in his futon, he would at least be surrounded by his comforting scent. Makoto had always smelled good, but it was as if his scent had gotten even nicer recently, though he couldn't say that it had changed, per se. Whatever it was, his scent was the cherry on top of getting to wear Makoto's comfortably oversized clothing.

He quickly put the socks on too even if he would take them off again soon because he always slept without socks, but they were a light shield from the frigid wood.

In the meantime Makoto had also changed into a sweater and had pulled on a pair of socks as well and together they made their way to the bathroom with their phones in hand to give them a bit of light so they could brush their teeth. Luckily that never posed to be a problem since Makoto had always had a toothbrush that was reserved for Haruka at his place, even before they moved to Tokyo and were still living in their childhood homes.

"It's a good thing it was the electricity that failed and not the water, right?" Makoto joked as he wet his toothbrush under the faucet before he put it in his mouth.

Haruka snorted at that and mumbled, "Believe me, if it was the water then we would have walked to my apartment."

Although his voice had been muffled around his toothbrush, Makoto had understood what he had said and he laughed at the mental image of them walking through the cold winter night all the way to Haruka's apartment just so he could get into his bathtub again, having turned into large ice cubes by the time they got there, just like characters in cartoons.

"I think we would have frozen over before we got there," Makoto remarked with a chuckle, toothpaste almost spilling from his lips in the process and he spit some of it out in the sink before it could run down his chin.

"Worth it," Haruka claimed, making Makoto laugh once again and hearing this familiar sound combined with the knowledge that he had been the cause of it sparked something inside of Haruka's chest. As he looked at Makoto standing beside him while doing something as mundane as brushing their teeth together, the funny feeling that had never dwindled spread inexplicable tingles through his body. Although brushing their teeth together was nothing special at all and he had never actually thought about it before, there was a part of him that longed to always brush his teeth alongside Makoto, with or without their meaningless banter. The mere thought of it strengthened by the after wave of mushy ripples that Makoto's laughter sent through him made Haruka smile around his toothbrush.

Once they were both done they took turns using the toilet and washing their hands before they went back inside. Haruka walked directly to the closet to grab the futon so he could bury his cold body inside of it as fast as possible, but Makoto paused and hesitated for a moment.

"Are you sure you want to sleep in the futon tonight?" he questioned, fumbling with his fingers in a nervous habit, "It will be cold on the floor, especially now. We can share the bed… if you want."

"No!" Haruka instantly blurted, because for some odd reason the mere thought of sharing the small bed - that was clearly designed for one person - with Makoto like that made him feel a weird kind of pressure on his chest, like he would spontaneously combust if he were to lie close with him like that. It was very strange, because they had often shared a bed in the past and although they were smaller and younger back then, it had never made him feel like this before. When he realised that his sudden refusal could be interpreted the wrong way, he quickly followed it up with, "Your bed is too small. You'll get cramped up."

"Still…" Makoto insisted, not wanting Haruka to be cold on the floor, "At least you take the bed then. I'll sleep in the futon."

"No, Makoto," Haruka protested because truth of the matter was that he could handle being cold much better than Makoto could and he didn't want him to freeze on the floor either. "It's your bed, it's my futon. End of discussion." It wasn't really Haruka's futon because it still belonged to Makoto, but he was literally the only person who ever used it so it might as well be.

At Haruka's somewhat stern words Makoto sighed in temporary defeat and he waved Haruka over so they could put the coffee table aside first before they laid out the futon, carefully so the still burning tea lights would not go out or fall over. When it was out of the way they put the futon down and Makoto hesitated again.

"Go lie down," Haruka commanded before Makoto could open his mouth, wanting to ensure that Makoto would sleep in his own bed tonight like he was supposed to, "I'll blow out the candles."

With another sigh Makoto did as he had been told, knowing that it was futile to argue with Haruka when he had his mind set on something and if he had put on his obstinate demeanour. Before he lied down though, he opened the curtains to let the moonlight shine in. It didn't do much to lighten up the room, but at least it was something.

Haruka softly blew out the tea lights one by one, eventually pressing a button on his phone again so it would light up the space around him more.

"Can you see enough?" Makoto asked as he turned his phone back on - after having just turned it off to spare the battery - as another source of light so Haruka wouldn't accidentally stumble or hurt himself.

"Yeah," Haruka affirmed and the last candle went out, leaving a burned type of scent behind that he found pretty pleasant - though not as pleasant as the scent that Makoto's clothes held. He navigated his way through the relatively dark room and sat down on the futon, pulling off his socks before he buried himself beneath the duvet.

"Are you sure that-"

"Yes, Makoto," Haruka interrupted, trying to sound stern but it was difficult when Makoto's voice had been full of concern and he knew that he only meant it well. "It's fine. Goodnight."

Makoto paused for a moment before he sighed again. The reason behind Makoto's pause was as clear as water; he saw right through Haruka's lies because it was, in fact, not fine. Since he was purposely being stubborn, Makoto knew that no matter how much he pressed, Haruka would not easily give in because he had already made his points earlier. So for now, he would leave Haruka be. "Goodnight, Haru. Just know that you're always welcome to come over here if you change your mind."

That offer made Haruka's heart skip a beat, because no matter how obstinate he was being, Makoto's kindness towards him never wavered. Truthfully, he would love to go over to Makoto's bed because he wasn't one to torture himself like this, with coldness in his bones and longing in his heart, but there was something holding him back. An obstacle, a hindrance that was most likely tied together with the coiling in his stomach. Still, he did appreciate Makoto's considerateness and therefore he quietly mumbled, "Thanks."

Although he couldn't see it, Haruka knew Makoto was smiling in response to his gratitude when he repeated, "Goodnight, Haru," in a soft murmur.

"Goodnight."

Then it became quiet in the room as Haruka tried his best to fall asleep as quickly as humanly possible. Alas, the cold air had ensured that he was wide awake and with the icy feeling that had seeped into his pores and spread throughout every last fiber of his being, he was positive that he would be awake for much, much longer than he wanted. His hands and feet were freezing and no matter how much he rubbed them together, he couldn't seem to warm them up even a little; it was like they were only getting colder the longer they pressed against each other. His cheeks and his nose were cold too and thus he buried himself completely beneath the duvet until only his mop of black hair was visible outside of it, but that didn't do much either. He had always thought that duvets served to warm you up, but that wasn't an easy task when the duvet itself felt like it was covered in a layer of ice as well; it had lied around in the cold closet all the time, and since his own body was emitting nothing but sheer frigidness, it wasn't strange that his little cocoon couldn't warm up either.

"Haru…?" Makoto softly called and Haruka knew that he knew he was so cold that it almost hurt. But he wouldn't surrender to Makoto's insistence without putting up a fight.

"It's fine, Makoto," Haruka dismissed, not wanting to say more than was absolutely necessary since he didn't want to betray his true feelings in the tone of his voice.

"But you're freezing, Haru! At least allow me to give you another blanket," Makoto bargained but Haruka couldn't give in now.

"Goodnight, Makoto."

It wasn't that he wanted to be rude or ungrateful to Makoto, but he had to be curt otherwise he might be tempted by his own conflicted heart. There was nothing he wanted more than to accept Makoto's kindness, to revel in it and cherish it for the rest of his days but for some reason he just couldn't. There was something inside of him that blocked him from actually acting on his true feelings, and perhaps he needed just a little more persuasion to tear down the brick wall he kept running into.

Makoto didn't say anything in response, but the unmistakable rhythm of his breathing made it clear that he was still awake and not pleased by Haruka's persistence, that he just didn't know how to respond to his odd behaviour and therefore didn't. Because whenever Haruka was being weird and he could tell there was something that was going on, something that bothered him, he would never ask Haruka about it after he had obviously shown that he didn't want to talk about it. He would always keep his mouth shut until Haruka was ready to tell him himself, would wait patiently for that day even if it might never come, and support him regardless of it. That was how it had always been and it was no different now.

As the minutes ticked by in a somewhat tense silence, Haruka wished and prayed to any deity who was willing to listen to let him fall asleep soon so he wouldn't have to deal with this strangeness, this itchy feeling in his palms any longer. Unfortunately there seemed to be none who were available or that wanted to help him out, because he stayed wide awake the entire time and he didn't warm up either. It was like his blood had literally run cold and was coursing through his veins while leaving frost behind underneath his skin. No matter how closely he curled up in himself, he couldn't stop himself from shivering and he did his very best to keep his teeth clenched tightly together so they wouldn't make a noise that would cause for Makoto to nag again in that concerned way of his. He had to admit, there was nothing that was more inviting right now than the thought of Makoto and his warm body, and the bed of course.

Even though he had tried his very best to be discreet, Haruka should have known from the very start that he could never fool Makoto and that eventually, he would completely blow all his covers and crush every façade. And this scenario was no exception.

"Haru, just come over here," Makoto pleaded, really not wanting Haruka to freeze half to death on his floor, "I know you're really cold-"

"I'm not, it's fine," Haruka tried to brush off but Makoto was past the part of accepting his nonsense.

"Don't try to deny it because I can hear your teeth clattering over here," Makoto claimed in that disapproving tone and Haruka knew that this was the last straw, "Either you come here right now or I'm coming over there to get you."

Haruka knew that this was no empty threat and that Makoto would actually do it if he didn't listen, and it was the final push he needed for the wall to crumble, deflating as if Makoto's words had popped it with a sharp edge. With an exaggerated sigh in feigned annoyance, Haruka muttered, "Fine!" and grabbed his pillow and got up. "Move over," he said to Makoto, who happily obliged with a victorious grin and scooted over until his back hit the wall so Haruka had more space.

He quickly lifted the duvet before he crawled underneath it to join Makoto and he was immediately welcomed by relative warmth that came from Makoto and the mattress beneath him and it already felt so much better than the lonesome futon had. Because of their proximity Makoto could just feel the coldness that Haruka's body was emitting and in a wave of protectiveness and caring he reached out and grabbed Haruka's hands.

"Haru, your hands are freezing!" he gasped in concern and this discovery made him scoot closer to Haruka again. Then his large feet sought out Haruka's cold ones and he gasped again. "And your feet too! Why didn't you say anything?"

No words left Haruka's lips in response because his brain had short-circuited and he had forgotten how to speak. To say that Makoto's touch had taken him by surprise would have been an understatement, although it wasn't quite clear why it had; after all, this touch wasn't odd or misplaced and it wasn't particularly intimate either except it  _was_. For some reason, something as simple as Makoto wrapping his large palms around his hands to warm his fingers and rubbing his feet with his own to return the feeling to them made blood rush to Haruka's cold, already-red cheeks.

Makoto didn't seem to notice the avalanche of feelings that went through Haruka for his mind was still occupied with trying to warm him up. Since just stroking the skin on his hands and feet was not effective enough, Makoto knew he had to take a more drastic course of action. "Oh, come here," he mumbled as he wound his arm around Haruka's back and threw his calf over his and tightly pulled Haruka against himself in an attempt to warm him with his entire body.

As Makoto caressed his back to stimulate his blood flow and share his own warmth with him, Haruka's heart stopped. His breath caught in his throat as he felt Makoto's breath fanning against his skin, ghosting over his lips and when he looked into the forest of Makoto's green eyes that was lit up by the moonlight, something clicked inside of Haruka. Suddenly, everything made sense.

There was no power in the whole building but Haruka's entire body was filled with electricity, and the spark that Makoto ignited in him set him on fire from within. And only now did he understand what that spark was: it had been the missing piece of the puzzle that had been so close in front of him that he was unable to see it until now. The funny feeling that had taken permanent residence inside his stomach whenever he looked at or thought about Makoto was the feeling of metaphorical butterflies that one would feel when their mind was captivated by the person they were in love with. The longing inside his chest was never completely satiated when he was by Makoto's side because simply being with him was not all he was craving. The itching in his hands when Makoto left didn't just want to hold him back, but hold him tight as well. The reason why Makoto's proximity made him feel somewhat shy yet was pleasant at the same time was that he wanted to have more but didn't know how to go about it. The endless amount of yearning Haruka felt was yearning for his embrace, his touch, his lips pliant against his own in the kiss he might have been waiting for all his life.

This conclusion should have been a bigger surprise than it actually was. But he had always known that he loved Makoto and that he was special to him; it was an undeniable fact that he regarded Makoto differently than all of his other friends, he had just never questioned it before. He never had any reason to question it because that was how it had always been, because they had been together for longer than he could remember and were still together in every new step of their lives. Although he had clearly been able to see a pattern between his strange feelings and Makoto, he hadn't been able to connect all the dots to one another and therefore he had never truly pondered about what his love for Makoto meant, what exactly their relationship entailed. Not until now.

And now that he knew, he knew there was not a moment in his life that he hadn't felt this way. In every moment, happy or sad, exciting or mundane, he had loved Makoto with all his heart. Somehow he had always known without realising it, because he never had to long for Makoto before because they were always together anyway; Makoto was an existence that was by his side without question, just like the water was. But when they moved to Tokyo, the water may have remained accessible without doubt or exception, but Makoto wasn't: he was a person with his own life and while he was leading it, he was no longer at his side at all times. It had taken a change of pace for him to truly miss the presence that he had always taken for granted, and once he started yearning, it didn't stop. He kept craving for more and more because he could never have enough of Makoto; he wanted to have all of him and give all of himself in return.

Makoto was still caressing his back without any awareness of the epiphany Haruka had just had and Haruka could feel his hands on him as if there were no layers of clothing separating them, like his fingerprints were being branded into his flesh to be felt forevermore. He didn't need to settle with the warmth of Makoto's clothes nor the smell that they held, because he was now surrounded in the heat of his body and his delicious, comforting scent that was overflowing and assaulting his senses. If his heart had stopped before, then it was now beating out of his chest with anticipation and excitement and his breathing got heavier as his gaze went from Makoto's gorgeous eyes to his enticing lips and back up. He didn't feel cold anymore; on the contrary, he had never felt hotter in his own skin than he did right now.

It was then that Makoto suddenly stopped fretting about him for a second and truly looked at him. He noticed that Haruka's small mouth was hanging open ever so slightly in what he guessed to be wonder and that his beautiful eyes were large and full of hunger. As their gazes held each other, Haruka saw something flashing through Makoto, presumably the same realisation that he just had himself; his eyes widened and his jaw dropped a bit before he closed his mouth again and Haruka was absolutely certain that Makoto felt the exact same way for him that he felt for Makoto.

Carefully, almost hesitantly, Makoto raised the hand that had stilled against his back to Haruka's face and cupped his cheek, caressing his skin with his large thumb. This affectionate gesture was all the confirmation that Haruka needed and he did what he had silently been craving forever and wrapped his arm around Makoto's waist before he closed the distance between them.

The moment their lips met something burst inside of Haruka, filling him with immense happiness over the course of a split second. Like everything was suddenly full of colour as if the world had been grey before. Like his heart was beating faster than ever and fireworks were exploding in his stomach. Like his soul had finally been able to merge with its other half and he was finally complete again even if he had never felt incomplete before. Like he was truly home.

It honestly shouldn't have been a surprise that kissing Makoto would make him feel so many things at once, but he was still overwhelmed by it because it was so conflicting; he had no idea what he was supposed to do and neither did Makoto for they were both inexperienced and yet it felt so natural and right, like they had been doing nothing but kissing each other for the past century. Then again, they had always been two bodies in perfect harmony and their hearts were connected in the purest way, so their lips meeting to express their love for each other could never be anything but perfect as well.

Never before had Haruka felt so excited and thrilled and yet calm and at ease at the same time. As Makoto's lips slowly, tenderly brushed against his, Haruka's heart melted inside his chest and he lightly grasped the back of Makoto's sweater for leverage. There was no need to rush anything, because they simply desired to feel each other and convey every bit of adoration that their beings held for one another. It was odd that it had taken them nineteen years to figure out what they were to each other when it had been at the core of their very existence, engraved in the walls of their heart since the day they were born.

Haruka was soon unable to produce any cohesive thoughts because he simply lost himself in Makoto. He had never really thought about what his first kiss would be like, but if he had known beforehand that it would make him feel like this then he might have understood his own feelings much sooner. There was no time for him to regret that he hadn't known sooner and therefore missed out on possible hours spent together just like this though, because he was so glad and happy that he had this now and he knew he would never let Makoto go again.

He did have to pull away for a second to breathe because Makoto's lips left him absolutely breathless. When he opened his eyes and stared into Makoto's once more, he saw the sheer amount of love that Makoto's dilated pupils held for him and another shiver ran down his spine, but a shiver of pleasure this time. "Makoto," he sighed because the touch of a gentle kiss had spread tingles through his whole body. It had been absolutely electrifying. He simply couldn't say anything but the name of the person he loved more than anyone or anything in the whole wide world, for kissing his one true love had erased every other word in his vocabulary.

There was no verbal response because Makoto was experiencing the same mind-blowing sensation of love that was so deep that it was simply indescribable. He stroked his long fingers over Haruka's cheek again before they simultaneously dove back in for more, because they definitely hadn't had enough of each other yet - and they were certain they never would either.

They would surely have to talk about their feelings and this development in their relationship, but that could wait a little while longer. For now, they simply wanted to hold each other, to feel their thoughts and emotions being expressed non-verbally, through their lips and touch and they knew that every feeling would come across accordingly because they had always understood each other without needing to voice it aloud.

This kiss was the exact same as the first in its passion, in the amount of love and affection that it carried across, but it was a bit more explorative now. They were adding a little more pressure and setting a slightly faster pace to figure out what felt best and Makoto's hand drifted from his face down over his arm and settled on his waist as his lips captured Haruka's again and again in a way most tender. At the same time, Haruka removed his hand from around Makoto's back and lifted it to cradle his face, holding him gently and stroking his skin.

As he rubbed small circles onto Makoto's jaw, Haruka could feel the faintest hint of stubble that wasn't really visible underneath the pad of his fingers and he moaned softly into the kiss. Makoto's facial hair didn't grow extraordinarily fast, but because of the rush he had been in this morning he had most likely forgotten to shave this particular patch of skin or simply missed it in his haste. Whatever it was, Haruka was glad that he got to feel it now because he was overtaken by a sudden and selfish desire to get to know every last part of Makoto, from how his fingers felt against his back and how his lips locked with his own oh so sweetly, and even to feel the rough stubbles that grew on his otherwise smooth face before he shaved them away every morning.

In response to Haruka's little moan Makoto sighed against his lips, drawing his fingertips back and forth over Haruka's middle. Although his arm would surely get tired later, Haruka couldn't stop himself from snaking it underneath Makoto's body to wrap it around his back and hold him tightly against himself and Makoto did the same in return, pulling them together until there was no space left between them and their chests pressed against the other. As Makoto's full lips slid over his thinner ones Haruka could feel Makoto's heart pounding and he swore that it beat in sync with his own, like they were not only on the same wavelength but their hearts were beating as one too. That shouldn't be that odd though, because in one way or another, they always had; after all, they were two halves of a whole, one soul in two bodies.

With great reluctance Makoto pulled away again and in a need for more Haruka stole a chaste kiss from Makoto's lips, who wouldn't pass up this wonderful opportunity and he eagerly kissed him back. When Haruka deemed it to be satisfying enough - for now - he ended the kiss, knowing that Makoto had done so before for a reason.

He rested his head back against the pillow and his eyes fluttered open again and met Makoto's gaze. Makoto was looking at him like he was the world and it made his skin prickle with fondness and joy and he brushed his fingers over Makoto's cheek again.

"Haru…" Makoto sighed, never breaking their connection of green and blue as he shifted his arm to hold his large palm between his shoulder blades, warm and welcome against his back.

There was only one thing he could say to the pure and unadulterated affection that Makoto's voice held when he whispered his name. Four little words that were so simple yet held more meaning than any other words he had ever uttered before because he meant them with all his heart. "Makoto, I love you."

At that sudden yet heartfelt confession Makoto's expression fell as he processed those words and then a large, bright smile lit up his face. "Haru," he repeated in that same tone yet somehow a little more astonished this time, and he couldn't do anything but reply with the truth, "I love you too; I love you so much!"

An uncharacteristically wide smile appeared on Haruka's features as well at the knowledge that his speculations were true; it was obvious otherwise Makoto wouldn't have kissed him back, but there was something special about hearing him say those words aloud in his beautiful voice. Still, he couldn't help but wonder if all of his assumptions had been correct and in the intimate atmosphere full of love that surrounded them, Haruka felt confident and brave enough to ask him directly. "Since when?"

"Since forever," Makoto confessed, and his beaming smile turned a bit more subdued, like he was regaining control over his outburst of emotion, "I just… I never really thought about it before, I guess. I mean, I knew I loved you, that's a given, but I never really thought about what exactly that meant. Not until just now."

Haruka mirrored his smile at that confirmation. It wasn't surprising at all that their hearts had been on the same wavelength yet again, because they wouldn't be Makoto and Haruka if they weren't. But it still made him indescribably happy to know that it wasn't just him who had been too blind to see the obvious truth that had been right in front of their noses for their entire lives. "Me too," he said, and even though he didn't specify, he knew he didn't need to and that Makoto would understand. He immediately followed it up with the first thing that came to mind in this situation, "You're going to need a bigger bed."

"Hm?" Makoto hummed, clearly caught off-guard by that seemingly out of place observation.

To spare him the effort of trying to figure out what he had meant, Haruka clarified it himself. "You don't seriously expect me to ever go back to sleeping in that futon again, do you?"

At that Makoto let out a soft chuckle and it sounded like music to Haruka's ears. "Of course not. You don't seriously expect me to ever let you go back to sleeping in that futon again, do you?"

That rebuttal made Haruka laugh as well and he bit his lip to suppress it, not wanting to break their warm ambience with a sudden eruption of loud noise. "Of course not," he replied and he really couldn't stop himself from snorting, feeling so giddy inside at the thought of many nights spent like this, exchanging soft kisses and sleeping inside Makoto's arms.

Makoto smiled in that loving way again as he began to draw random patterns on Haruka's back. Then his expression turned a little more shy, almost hesitant, and he quietly mumbled, "Hey, Haru?"

"What?" Haruka asked, reassuringly rubbing his jaw to let him know that he didn't need to be hesitant, that he could ask him anything without having to hold back or feel reluctant.

"Can I… can I kiss you again?"

The insecure tone of his voice made Haruka think that something was up, but when his question got through to him, he couldn't help another snort from leaving him in relief. "Of course. You don't have to ask, dummy."

In response another soft smile adorned Makoto's face before he leaned back in to press his lips against Haruka's again. It shouldn't have been baffling that Makoto would ask for his consent before doing anything, especially since all of this was relatively new to them; after all, ensuring his comfort was always Makoto's top priority, so it wasn't odd that he placed what he wanted before what he wanted himself. He really appreciated that Makoto was so careful and considerate, but he really didn't have to ask for permission for every little thing. As if there would ever be a time in which he would reject Makoto's displays of affection, as if he would ever say 'no' to getting to kiss him breathless.

As the kiss continued, it soon became more and more heated and Haruka could feel goosebumps erupting on his skin again, though they were definitely not there because he was cold, but because of affection and fervor rushing through his veins. Like Makoto sent ripples of warmth throughout his entire body starting at every part their touch connected them. If he had to explain what the sensation of kissing Makoto felt like then he couldn't describe it as anything but purely magical. Like their intertwined bodies were leaving the bed behind as they ascended up to the heavens together.

But then his body actually left the bed as Makoto's weight shifted and Haruka was suddenly pulled on top of him. It startled him a little and he let out a small noise of surprise but it wasn't enough for him to break the kiss. Although it had been unexpected, Haruka was actually quite glad with this change of position because his arm was starting to feel kind of numb, but he did still want to stay as close as possible to Makoto and now gravity was taking care of that for him; he was pretty sure that Makoto felt the same way and that he had therefore chosen to shift them.

Haruka let his legs fall beside Makoto's body and he raised his left hand to join the other on Makoto's face, cradling his cheek as he rested his weight fully on Makoto. Even though he wasn't exactly as light as a feather, he knew that Makoto was strong enough to support them both, otherwise he wouldn't have brought them in this position in the first place. As if the whole situation hadn't been mind-blowing enough already, he felt Makoto licking his lips in a request to deepen their kiss and Haruka naturally granted him permission. When he opened his mouth to invite Makoto's tongue inside, he practically melted in Makoto's arms. He had absolutely no clue what he was supposed to do but even if he had known, then that knowledge would have been useless for the moment their tongues touched, he forgot the entire world around them. And he seemingly wasn't the only one who was at loss for what to do and couldn't focus on anything but the other because Makoto appeared to be just as clueless. But that was alright, because they would figure it out together like they always did.

While their tongues entwined, Haruka ran his hands through Makoto's hair and in response Makoto moaned against his lips, grasping at his back and caressing his spine. Fingers tangled through thick, fluffy locks and clutched at a thin sweater as they surrendered to the other and lost themselves completely in each other's love and touch. Eventually Makoto's hands settled on the small of Haruka's back, threatening to wander a little lower as the kiss got even more heated than it already was before, dripping with wanton and fervor. It just felt so incredibly good, not only the kiss in itself but also the feelings that it held, the yearning for each other's affection and devotion that was effortlessly conveyed and they sighed simultaneously in delight and pleasure.

Although the fact that Haruka had swimmer's lungs should have come to his advantage even in this case, it was practically impossible to properly pace the rhythm of his breathing when his focus was all over the place and his mind was void of any thoughts that weren't related to Makoto and kissing him. Therefore he ran out of air much quicker than he would have liked and he was forced to break away. He hovered his face right above Makoto's because he was simply unable to pull away completely and they were both panting lightly, their breath intermingling between them.

It was only when Haruka opened his eyes and saw Makoto's features illuminated by the moonlight, the sheen of saliva glistening on his plush lips and his gorgeous eyes softened in adoration and desire that he noticed how hard his heart was pounding, almost like it was trying to burst through his ribs and he could feel that Makoto's heart was in a similar condition. They took a moment to calm themselves and regulate their breathing, never breaking eye-contact because they simply couldn't look away from the other; like they were captured in each other's spell since the moment their lips first touched and would be enchanted forevermore.

Then Haruka's hands went from where they were laced through Makoto's hair back to his cheeks and even if he hadn't completely recovered from the previous astonishing kiss, the hunger for more was too prominent to ignore and he pressed another chaste one against Makoto's wet lips. Makoto accepted it without hesitance and when Haruka ended it, he leaned up for more and soon they were exchanging kisses that were short but incredibly sweet.

Only when their craving was satiated for now and the need to really talk about this new development bubbled up did they pull back. So Makoto shifted his weight again and gently, carefully laid Haruka back down onto the bed as he turned their bodies sideways again. He pulled the duvet back up because it had been tousled as they moved, not wanting the cold air from the outside to get into their warm sanctuary. "Sorry, I got a little carried away," he apologised softly, for even if he knew Haruka had given him permission to kiss him again, this kiss and the situation as a whole were vastly different in comparison to the tame and slow kisses they had shared before.

"It's alright," Haruka immediately assured, for he definitely would have stopped Makoto if this had been something he didn't want, if their craving to feel and taste each other wasn't mutual, "Me too."

Makoto smiled in response and Haruka could read in his stunning eyes that even if he had immensely enjoyed himself, kissing like that was about as far as he wanted to take it right now and Haruka wholeheartedly agreed. Even though he would love to venture further into the world of intimacy with the person he loved most and explore how to experience even greater pleasure together in the future, for now he wanted to take things one step at a time. After all, it hadn't been too long since he even realised his feelings and he didn't want to rush into anything. They would get to that point eventually and they would set their own pace like they did with everything, taking as much time as they needed to get ready and feel comfortable.

Then again, Haruka already lost himself when they kissed so he surely wouldn't be able to handle much more without going crazy or his heart stopping entirely.

Soft smiles adorned both of their faces as Haruka removed his hand from Makoto's cheek and instead used it to stroke the wide planes of Makoto's back. The back he had admired for his entire life yet had never bothered to figure out the reason why he admired it so. In hindsight, his feelings had been so blatantly obvious that it took a huge idiot not to notice them, and yet Makoto and he had both been oblivious to their love for each other. At least they had come to their senses now and got to be huge idiots together.

As if he had read Haruka's mind, Makoto giggled softly before he raised his hand to his face again and caressed his skin. "Of course I love you," he sighed, murmuring his thoughts out loud, "With every breath, with every heartbeat I…" he trailed off and instead of finishing his sentence, he leaned forward and pressed a sweet, doting kiss against Haruka's nose before he nuzzled it with his own.

This somewhat unexpected and incredibly endearing gesture made Haruka's heart swell with fondness and in response he covered Makoto's hand on his cheek with his own as he nuzzled back. Then he pressed a kiss of his own against the palm of Makoto's hand, feeling how good it was to place random kisses on Makoto's skin just because. They had kissed for the first time not too long ago, but kissing Makoto was quickly becoming one of Haruka's favourite activities, whether it be on his tempting lips or any other part of him.

"I love you so much, Haru," Makoto continued from where he had left off before the desire to affectionately kiss and nuzzle Haruka's cute nose welled up inside him, "I honestly can't believe I didn't notice it earlier."

"You're an idiot," Haruka helpfully supplied, unable to stop himself from grinning, "And so am I. We were too dumb to notice it sooner."

Makoto giggled again. "At least now we get to be dumb together, right?"

"Yeah," Haruka agreed, snorting lightly and he had never felt happier at the knowledge that he was an idiot, "Though I suppose we're a little less dumb now."

"Yeah," Makoto echoed, "At least we figured it out now, after nineteen years of being dumb and oblivious."

"I suppose we were oblivious because we never had the opportunity to realise it before," Haruka said softly, and his tone turned a little more serious now, "I never realised how much I love you because I never had the chance to really think about it. You were always by my side without question; we were together almost every single day and that made me happy. Being with you made me feel more comfortable and at ease than with anyone else and that was natural to me, because we have been together from the start. I never had to long for your presence because you were always there. Until we moved here." Haruka paused for a moment because he wanted to find the right words, which had never been his forte in the first place but he knew it was important to properly convey the feelings that burned inside his chest for Makoto. So he took a deep breath and continued speaking from the heart, "Ever since we came to Tokyo and saw each other less and less, I started to miss you. At first I didn't really know what it was and thought that I just had to get used to living in a large and unfamiliar city, but as the months passed the feeling of longing only grew stronger. I soon realised that I was longing for you, to be by your side more often but even that just wasn't enough. It wasn't until just now that I realised what loving you truly means for me, and I know I want to be together with you in every sense of the word."

The abrupt change in ambience from expressing their love for each other in an amused way to the sudden serious confession that had left Haruka's lips made Makoto gasp a little, completely befallen by the genuine and sincere words that Haruka had spoken. "Haru…" he mumbled in that same tone his voice was always tinged with when Haruka did something that surprised him, "I feel the same. I've really missed you these past few months and I was so happy when we got to spend some time together, although it always saddened me when we had to part ways again. I thought I was just feeling homesick and that I was too reliant on you, that I just needed some time to get used to being on my own but… I also realised that I just want to be together with you because I love you and-" Makoto cut himself off in the middle of his own rambling when he was struck with an idea, "Haru, when does your leasing period end?"

Haruka blinked as he tried to make sure he had heard his question correctly, not wanting to get his hopes up if he hadn't. After a second of silence he murmured, "Are you asking me to move in with you?"

"Yes," Makoto confirmed, but then he quickly followed it up with, "But only if you want to! If you don't then that's fine, I-"

"April," Haruka interrupted his train of assurance, smiling softly at his adorable Makoto, "My leasing period ends in April."

When those words got through to Makoto, an enormous smile stretched his lips, showing his pearly teeth and his gorgeous eyes were shining with glee. "Mine does too. It's still a few months away, though. Think we can hold on until then?"

"As long as we can see each other a little more often," Haruka muttered, because he wasn't lying when he said he missed Makoto. Moving in together was honestly the best solution because then they would be able to see each other every day, even when they were busy they'd still come home to each other. Being able to always eat breakfast and dinner together, to brush their teeth and get ready together, sleeping together, Haruka knew for sure that that was what he wanted, every single day for the rest of his life. The prospect of having that for years to come made him strong enough to last these upcoming few months.

Makoto smiled at him as if to tell him that he understood him completely and that the sentiment was shared entirely. "Should we start looking for a bigger apartment?"

"Yeah," Haruka said, "See if we can find some place cheap. If we can't find anything then I'm fine with moving in here too. Or you moving into my apartment, whichever you prefer."

"If we can't find anything cheap then I think it's better if I move in with you. Your place is larger, it's closer to your university and the indoor pool is right next door. But we'll figure it out tomorrow, alright?" Makoto proposed, knowing there wasn't much they could do about finding a place right now. Then he snorted, "If the power's back on, at least."

"If the power is still out tomorrow then we're definitely going back to my apartment," Haruka stated solemnly, leaving no room for the objections that wouldn't come either way, "Then you're staying over until everything is fixed."

"But what if I don't want to leave once it's fixed?" Makoto teased but Haruka could hear a sliver of seriousness in his remark.

"Then you'll just stay. Who says I want you to leave once it's fixed?" he countered, because he truthfully didn't want Makoto to leave anyway.

That thought didn't go unnoticed and Makoto smiled tenderly as he caressed his cheek. "Just a few more months."

Haruka leaned into his touch, closing his eyes to revel in it and he murmured, "I love you," before he leaned in to kiss Makoto again.

Not letting any opportunity slip, Makoto kissed him back passionately and they both enjoyed every second of it. After sharing a dozen sweet and loving kisses, Makoto pulled back again and reluctantly said, "I love you too, Haru, but… aren't we going a little too fast? I mean, we only just found out about our feelings and we're already planning to move in together…"

Insecurity was hidden in Makoto's beautiful voice, mixed with concern and it worried Haruka because he didn't want him to feel so unsure about something that he himself was already looking forward to. It was odd because Makoto had proposed this himself, but Haruka still had to make sure it was what he truly wanted, that he hadn't proposed it on a whim and changed his mind now he really thought about it. "Hey, we don't have to if you don't want to."

"I want to!" Makoto quickly assured, "I just… I don't know."

"You're afraid that it's going too fast?"

"Yeah."

It wasn't like Haruka didn't understand his worry; in any normal situation, deciding to move in together with the person you love only about an hour after you figured out you even had feelings for them was weird and irrational, but in their case it wasn't strange at all given of their history. "Makoto, we've been together for all of our lives. Do you think moving in together after  _nineteen years_ is too fast?"

"When you put it like that," Makoto sighed, chuckling lightly, "No."

"Besides, it's what I wanted all along…" Haruka admitted because in all honesty, he had expected that they would share an apartment here in Tokyo from the beginning. But he hadn't told Makoto that he was coming to Tokyo too until he got the results of his entrance exams, and by then Makoto already had his sights set on this apartment so Haruka hadn't said anything and thought that it might be best if he just searched for his own apartment. He reasoned that Makoto might not have wanted to move in together with him anyway since he had already decided on coming here before he even knew that Haruka would accept a scholarship from a university here in Tokyo.

"Honestly, it's what I wanted too," Makoto confessed, smiling sheepishly, "But I figured you would rather live on your own because you were already used to that ever since your mom left. And I thought I already relied on you too much as it was, so it was a good opportunity for me to become independent. It wasn't quite as easy as I expected it to be, though."

"There's nothing wrong with relying on me; I rely on you too," Haruka assured, gently massaging his back to convey his affection and devotion, "We rely on each other, and that's completely fine."

Another concurring smile appeared on Makoto's face as he admitted, "You're right, I'm just being silly."

In response Haruka just smiled before he kissed Makoto again, simply being unable to suppress the urge because he couldn't contain the years of bottled-up love any longer, needing to express the endless amount of affection his heart produced at Makoto's mere existence. Growing up and becoming independent was not a new issue that Makoto was struggling with; he had been seeking for his own identity since middle school and while he had found it back then, this was another stage in his life wherein he felt the need to develop himself, this time into a fully functioning adult who didn't need to depend on anyone or anything. While Haruka understood that to a certain degree, he thought that Makoto often asked too much of himself, like he was forcefully trying to change himself to fit the standard that society set for him. But that wasn't necessary at all, because to Haruka it seemed obvious that he was still dependant on other people, because in some way or another everyone was. Regardless of what happened, Makoto was still Makoto and he was perfect just the way he was. So for him to feel the need to alter his perfect self was just, as Makoto himself had confirmed before, downright silly.

As if he had read his mind, Makoto smiled into the kiss and Haruka could feel a puff of his breath fanning against his skin. "So wait," Makoto chuckled once their lips parted, "Did we seriously want the same thing from the start but didn't say anything about it because we were afraid of bothering each other with it?"

"Yes," Haruka affirmed with a small chuckle of his own, "We really need to work on that. Not holding ourselves back because we're afraid of bothering each other."

"We're getting there, slowly but surely," Makoto stated confidently, because they really were trying to work on it. Communication is key in every relationship after all, and theirs was no exception; even if they could communicate without words, that didn't mean that they couldn't lock their true feelings away in their hearts without ever expressing them. The consideration of each other's comfort was so great that it sometimes unintentionally led to hurting them both, they had learned that from the past and to prevent things like that from ever happening again in the future they needed to put effort into improving themselves. And even if that wouldn't be easy at times, Haruka knew that both he and Makoto were willing to put that effort into it because their relationship was more than worth it. Because their love was more than worth it.

No matter how tough the challenges that lied ahead of them were, they knew they could take it all on because they had each other.

"Just know that you can always ask and tell me anything, Haru, because you could never bother me. Never."

Makoto's sudden words took him by surprise because they were so sincere and filled with devotion and dedication that it spontaneously made him flustered again. It was strange how after all those heartfelt confessions and passionate kisses, Makoto saying something so simple still made his cheeks flush. He supposed that was just the power of Makoto, being able to still tug at his heartstrings at the most unexpected moments. The meaning that his voice held when he spoke was something that Haruka definitely needed to return, and even if he knew that Makoto would understand that the sentiment would be reciprocated anyway, Haruka wanted to tell him directly. It was difficult for him, but for Makoto he couldn't do anything but try his best. "Same for you," he mumbled and for some reason, a whirlwind of feelings overwhelmed him so in a need to divert the attention from himself, he quickly said, "It's late. We should go to sleep."

The reason for this abrupt change of topic did not go unnoticed by Makoto, and he couldn't repress another chuckle of endearment. "You're right," he muttered once more and when Haruka looked up at his moonlit face again, every bit of embarrassment that had crept up to him evaporated into thin air. "Goodnight, Haru-chan," he whispered before he leaned forward for his goodnight kiss.

"I told you," Haruka mumbled between kisses, "to stop with the '-chan' already."

Knowing there was no real irritation in Haruka's habitual phrase, Makoto simply smiled against his lips, savouring every touch and writing the feelings it gave them onto their very souls, never to be forgotten. But because the language of love was one that couldn't be read but only felt, Makoto vowed to speak it as often as he possibly could so that Haruka would always remember just how strong his feelings for him were, that they couldn't be measured for they were infinite and would linger for all eternity. "I love you, Haru. I love you so much."

A genuine smile stretched Haruka's lips because he could feel his love resonating through every part of his being. "I love you too, Makoto. I love you so much," Haruka said, knowing that no other words would be adequate enough to return the feeling than the exact same ones that Makoto had spoken to him, knowing that the affection Makoto sent his way would be carried across. "Goodnight."

In what he intended to be the final kiss of the night, Makoto pressed his lips to Haruka's once more just because before he pulled back. "Sweet dreams, Haru," he whispered and he honestly couldn't have stopped himself from placing a kiss onto Haruka's forehead even if he had wanted to.

And Haruka was glad that he couldn't, because the simple kiss against his forehead made him feel so warm and content inside that he wouldn't wanted to have missed it. In a constant need to return every bit of adoration that Makoto expressed for him, Haruka intertwined their bodies once more before he buried his face in Makoto's neck, nuzzling his skin and he pressed a kiss to the closest part that he could reach. Closing his eyes in contentment, he sighed as Makoto pulled him tighter against himself.

As the minutes ticked by, Makoto didn't seem to show any signs that he had fallen asleep; the pace of his heartbeat didn't slow down nor did the rhythm of his breathing even out. He wasn't the only one, because contrary to normally when he would fall asleep pretty early at night, Haruka was now wide awake and didn't feel even a sliver of drowsiness inside of him. The deities still didn't plan on making him lose consciousness any time soon, but now he didn't mind it, not at all.

"Hey, Haru?" Makoto whispered after a while of silence.

"What?"

"I'm actually far too awake to sleep right now."

Haruka snorted as he pulled back and looked back up at Makoto's face. "Me too." He had to admit that this was quite the opposite of an unfavourable situation though, because lying in bed together with Makoto and being enveloped in his warmth and love on a cold day was very pleasing. Cuddling was also quickly becoming one of his favourite things, so having to spend that time consciously was not a punishment at all - contrary to having to lie in a cold futon while the warmth and love were less than a meter away from him yet remained out of his reach. "It's warm here so even if I'm not going to sleep any time soon, I'm not moving."

Makoto chuckled at his comment before he murmured, "Who says I was going to let you go?"

"You better not," Haruka countered, and even if he had said it in a literal sense, he also meant it in a figurative way. This was something that Makoto easily caught and he rested his forehead against Haruka's.

"I won't," he vowed as he stared straight into the ocean of Haruka's eyes, "I never will, I promise."

"Good, because I'm not letting you go either," Haruka declared before he locked their lips again in what was not the first and would definitely not be the last kiss they shared that night. Despite that, every kiss held just as much significance as the first because they were showing their unconditional devotion and adoration for each other. "I love you."

"I love you too, Haru-chan," Makoto replied with a smitten smile and for the first time in forever, Haruka didn't mention anything about the usage of that childish nickname in favour of kissing that adorable smile right off his lips.

Tomorrow they would figure out how to get the electricity back, but for now they were more than happy with exchanging the electricity in their bodies through a loving embrace and tender kisses.

Although Haruka had been really annoyed with the power outage and the cold it brought along with it, he had to admit that it hadn't been that bad after all.

**Author's Note:**

> The next day the power was back on, they found an apartment to move into together and lived happily ever after.
> 
> Thank you for reading! I strayed a bit from the original prompt because I figured that it would make more sense for the power to cut off earlier, because if it cut off while they were already in bed then the warmth would have lingered long enough for them to have fallen asleep before that. At first I was going to make the power cut off while they were playing games together but then I thought, "wait, making it cut off while Makoto is still in the shower is much more fun!" so I did that and I hope you liked it.
> 
> As always you can find me on Tumblr and Twitter @DatHeetJoella if you want to talk with me about MakoHaru.
> 
> Thank you for reading once again, I hope you enjoyed and I hope to see you next time as well!
> 
> Have a wonderful day!


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